Waiting for Superman
by purpleswans
Summary: Karin considers what it takes to be a superhero


**Hey all! Here's my contribution to Hitsukarin week 2015 Day 1: Coachella. This was inspired by _Waiting for Superman_ by Daughtry. I orriginally came up with the idea for this about a year ago, when I thought this song reminded me of Karin's relationship with both Toshiro and Ichigo. I may eventually write a second chapter of this about her relationship with Ichigo, but since this is Hitsukarin week, that's the focus of this one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

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"Karin, when do you think Toshrio will be here?" Yuzu asked.

Karin shrugged. "Don't know. Does it really matter?"

"I want to know when to start making dinner." The light-haired Kurosaki twin frowned. "You should know this kind of stuff; he's your boyfriend after all."

"How many times do I have to tell you, he's not my boyfriend," Karin denied weakly. Honestly, she was getting tired of telling people that she and Toshiro were just friends. She was pretty sure that he wasn't interested in her as more than that, and she didn't want to ruin such a good friendship. Sure, she wouldn't mind if he started to make advances, but that was another issue entirely.

Yuzu sighed. "Well, I've got most of it made so all I have to do is put it in the oven for 15 minutes. I guess I'll just put it in when he gets here." She wandered into the living room and grabbed the remote. "Karin, do you have something you want to watch."

Karin shook her head. "Not particularly."

Yuzu pressed the power button and started channel surfing. There really wasn't much on. Karin considered suggesting they grab movie from their collection, but decided against it since their guest would be arriving any minute now. Yuzu flipped through several sappy romances, ignored a few repetitive crime dramas, hesitated for a few moments at a cooking show, and cringed at some comedies riddled with bad humor. Eventually, she stopped at a kid's channel.

The cartoon playing on the TV was an old American one that Karin didn't particularly care for. It was about a Superhero living a double life, trying to defeat the supervillains while maintaining his normal lifestyle. In this episode, the hero fell into a trap set by the supervillain, but escaped through some _dues ex machine_ power and saved the city from the villain's evil plan. It was incredibly cheesy and probably only enjoyable to little kids, but Yuzu seemed mildly interested.

"Wouldn't it be cool to have superpowers?" Yuzu suddenly asked.

Karin looked at her sister, not sure what had brought her to that line of thinking. "Eh, I'm not so sure. I mean, look at the guy in this show. His life isn't that easy since he had to keep half of his life a secret, plus the villains are always are always coming after him. It's not that different from how Ichi-nii and I have to constantly go after the hollows that keep popping up."

Yuzu considered her sister's words. "You're right, I hadn't thought about that. You and Ichi-nii are kind of like superheroes already." She sighed. "I guess I just wish that I had Soul Reaper powers like you guys. At least I'm able to see spirits now."

"It's not really that great." Karin grumbled.

About a year ago, Yuzu had started seeing spirits. It started as a few wisps whenever she knew they were there, but before long he could make out their entire form. Karin and Ichigo had been worried since they didn't want their sister to get involved in fighting hollows, but Yuzu had been ecstatic. She took up the mantel of "Kurosaki family medium" (as she called it) and started comforting wholes to help them pass over. If she ever found one that wasn't doing well, she would tell Ichigo, Karin, or some other Soul Reaper so they could perform a Konso.

Karin started training to fight as a Soul Reaper around the same time. It started out when she ran into one too many hollows that didn't go away after a good kick. At the time, she had been just so frustrated in her own powerlessness that she practically begged every Soul Reaper, former or active, she knew to teach her how to fight better. That mindset eventually led her to Urahara's basement, where she trained until she had awakened her own Soul Reaper abilities. Ichigo had been dejected when he found out, but eventually came around and even gave her his old Substitute Soul Reaper pass. Of course, the novelty of cool new powers wore off and Karin started to realize how much of a pain constantly fighting hollows was.

Once the show was finished, another episode of the same series started playing. Yuzu quickly gained interest in the familiar storyline, but Karin didn't feel any need to watch another cheesy episode. She got up and headed for the front door, hoping that she would find something to occupy herself with. As she passed the living room, she noticed a little spirit hovering above a lamp.

"Yuzu, you've got another one," Karin called for her sister. In her current mood, she didn't want to deal with winey, recently-deceased spirits and their problems.

"Hmm?" Yuzu wandered into the living room, looking for who Karin was referring to. When she saw the child up on the ceiling, she broke out into an enormous smile. "Oh look at you! You're just like an angle!"

Karin left her sister to care for the little spirit. She exited the house, pulling her jacket closed to protect herself from the chilly night air. Karin didn't plan on going very far since she had a guest coming soon, not to mention there wasn't anything to do this time of night. Still, she felt the urge to get out of the house and breathe the outside air. After a minute's of consideration, Karin decided to take a walk around the block.

As she walked, Karin observed the cars driving down the street. She had been required to deal with a lot of souls who had died in a car accident, so she couldn't help but wish that these people would get to their destinations safely. She really didn't want to deal with more wholes in need of Konso than she had to.

Karin thought back to Yuzu's words earlier. Would she be considered a superhero? She certainly had the "double life" thing going for her. Training with Urahara left her exhausted and she didn't have any good excuses for why she couldn't make it to Soccer practice. Plus, going out each night to fight hollows was cutting into her study time, so her grades were slipping. Karin was starting to understand why her brother had decided to become a Soul Reaper full-time so he wouldn't have to keep up the charade.

Was she some kind of superhero? No, heroes were usually good at what they did. Karin had messed up more times than she cared to remember, and some other Soul Reaper usually had to come save her. A superhero would be able to take on every hollow by themselves and win. They would be perfect fighters, something the Karin wasn't by any stretch of the imagination.

Karin looked up at the stars. No, Karin didn't think she was a superhero. However, she did know some who would fit that criteria: Ichi-nii, Rukia-nee, most of the Captains and Lieutenants of the 13 Court Guard Squads. She made each of the stars count as one of them. Uahara-san, those visards she saw every so often… Toshiro.

Toshiro was definitely a superhero. He was strong enough to take on multiple hollows at once. He performed his duties without much complaint just because it was the right thing to do. He had saved Karin countless times. He had been the first person to be totally honest with her about this whole Soul Reaper business. Even if he wasn't a classic superhero with a double life, he would always be Karin's personal hero.

Where did that leave Karin? If she wasn't a hero, what was she? The sidekick? Hmm, that was a possibility. The love interest? After all, every superhero had some kind of girlfriend. Usually they were one of the only people who knew his secret identity. Although Karin wouldn't mind dating Toshiro, she didn't really like the idea of being a damsel in distress.

A firm voice dragged Karin out of her thoughts. "Karin? What are you doing out here?"

She turned to see whose voice it was. The white-haired Captain of the Tenth division was standing a block away in his gigai. Toshiro Hitsugaya had finally arrived.

"You came!" Karin exclaimed. She ran the length of the block to tackle Toshiro with a hug.

Toshiro looked confused, but returned the embrace. "I told you I was coming for dinner, didn't?"

Karin did pay attention. She was back in superman's arms.

_She's talking to angels, counting the stars  
Making a wish on a passing car  
She's dancing with strangers, falling apart  
Waiting for Superman to pick her up  
In his arms, in his arms  
Waiting for Superman_

_\- Daughtry, "Waiting for Superman"_

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